28 Days Later - Death of a Nation

[22000 Kevin]

1) What would have happened to the patrolling Trident Submarine when the UK fell? I Believe it would depend on what Blair wrote in his 'Letters of Last Resort', but the Royal Navy's boomers by all accounts do not have the same PALs as US and Russian boats, so the Skipper can de facto act of his own accord.

The British Government in the story evacuated to Belfast, so its doubtful that the captain of the Trident submarine on patrol would go against the orders that he would still receive from the Government.

2) Perhaps a more sensible option than fighting the infected head on during the initial outbreak would have been to implement a 'hunker down' strategy.

Once it became clear that the Army was losing major engagements in Cambridge and then Luton, strategy should have changed. I would have instituted a lockdown/shelter in place order, telling everybody to lock their doors, close all curtains and barricade themselves in their homes. The Army meanwhile would fortify its garrisons with layers upon layers of concertina wire, landmines and ditches and simply defend its bases, where soldiers (and their immediate families) live. It would be much easier for a garrison to mount an all-round defence of its base, with the waves of infected falling into ditches and getting caught up in concertina-wire, with infantrymen on catwalks behind fences taking them out with direct fire, all the while supported by Artillery units garrisoned on the same bases (think Catterick and Colchester) - DPICM rounds would be perfect for breaking up large hordes of infected if they can be procured from the US in time.

With everybody barricading themselves in their homes, the infected would have nobody to infect and thus the disease would burn itself out far more rapidly. Then the Army could begin offensive operations, moving out of its garrisons to mop up any surviving infected and re-secure the country.

Also, the British Army at the time had the whole 1st Armoured Division based in Germany. There is no way in hell the whole division would have been able to redeploy to the UK mainland in the alloted time, meaning that when the Army breaks from its garrisons to go on the offensive, there is a whole division (just under 1/2 of the Army's deployable combat formations at the time) that can be used in addition to attrited formations that have been fighting in the UK since the first outbreak.

Casualties from statvation and also from those poor people unable to look after themselves at home would of course be massive, perhaps in the tens of millions, but in the dire circumstances of this TL, it beats watching the whole country sink under the tide of the infection.

Well hindsight is 20/20, the British military really should've used different tactics to fight the infected during the 2002 outbreak, it wasn't helped that during the first critical 24 hours of the Cambridge outbreak the authorities were reluctant to issue an immediate shoot on sight policy for the infected, if the British had the hindsight to know that there was nothing that could be done to "save" the sick people then the outbreak could have been limited to just the East Anglia region. It should be noted @kspence92 was forced to write a story that would have the collapse of the British Military being plausibly explained in a span of just 28 days, since he made sure to have the story remain cannon compliant to the events that were mentioned in the films.

Looking at the suggestions, I don't know if the "hunker down" strategy would have work well, one major problem is that people would have likely still panicked and started looting for food once their limited supplies ran out, trust in their Governments lockdown plan would collapse especially when news breaks out that apart from their immediate family members the military has given up defending most of the cities and are instead focused on having garrisons fortifying their bases into infected kill zones. I wouldn't be surprised if the attempt of adopting this controversial strategy would lead to political infighting in the British Government and anger in certain parts of the military. Many civilians would likely refuse to listen to the orders to lockdown and instead attempt to evacuate to anyway, spreading the virus. Ultimately the looting, evacuations, infighting, anarchy and the collapse of both the UK power grid and the water pumps, would all conspire together to prevent the Rage virus from burning out quickly, but most of the British Military would survive in the scenario, providing that their stockpiles of ammunition, fuel and food do not run out.

 

[Gillan1220]

Looking at the suggestions, I don't know if the "hunker down" strategy would have work well, one major problem is that people would have likely still panicked and started looting for food once their limited supplies ran out, trust in their Governments lockdown plan would collapse especially when news breaks out that apart from their immediate family members the military has given up defending most of the cities and are instead focused on having garrisons fortifying their bases into infected kill zones. I wouldn't be surprised if the attempt of adopting this controversial strategy would lead political to infighting in the British Government and anger in certain parts of the military. Many civilians would likely refuse to listen to the orders to lockdown and instead attempt to evacuate to anyway, spreading the virus. Ultimately the looting, evacuations, infighting, anarchy and the collapse of both the UK power grid and the water pumps, would all conspire together to prevent the Rage virus from burning out quickly, but most of the British Military would survive in the scenario, providing that their stockpiles of ammunition, fuel and food do not run out.

There was infighting among the government. From the use of nuclear weapons (which divided the parliament) to even using vehicles to save as many civilians as possible instead of artwork (see the clash between the Home Secretary and the Culture Secretary before the Prime Minister said civilian lives take priority over everything else).

I'm not sure if NATO airdrops would be enough to supply these bases for the next 28 days. As you mentioned it is in hindsight, the British government and the MOD did not know the Infected would starve or die from the elements of nature. Now this has been known, the "hunker down" strategy could be adapted. Unfortunately, not even the European armies used this when the virus reached the continent.

 

[Pax_Nihil]

I suppose the hunkering down idea depends on the intelligence of the infected. If everybody is at home, doors locked and barricaded, curtains closed, then the infected have no way of knowing which flats and houses have victims in them. Are they going to break down the doors and barricades of every single room in every single house and flat? If so, that will slow them down a hell of a lot. And if not, well, there's nobody left to infect and rage burns itself out.

What do you think of the Army's odds of holding out in its major garrisons? As long as the troops are supplied and they have a couple of days to dig in I see no reason why an infantry brigade can't hold out nearly indefinitely. How can the infected get through rows of razor wire and climb out of ditches/moats dug for them while under fire?

You are making so many valid points and I commend you, also I have just wondered if the enhanced senses of the infected (if it works like that) maybe they could smell or hear the noisy people who are not actively paranoid about every potential sound in their homes and thus drawing the attention of the most persistent Infected.

 

[Gillan1220]

You are making so many valid points and I commend you, also I have just wondered if the enhanced senses of the infected (if it works like that) maybe they could smell or hear the noisy people who are not actively paranoid about every potential sound in their homes and thus drawing the attention of the most persistent Infected.

They could. It was mentioned in the tie-in comics that the Ragers can smell uninfected ones because of perfumes, shampoos, and other chemicals the uninfected have exposed themselves in the pre-outbreak days. Even if the survivors haven't bathed in weeks as the water failed, the remaining substances can still be sniffed out.
According to the FAQ on IMDB:

Whilst never clarified in the film itself, it has been explained in the graphic novel, 28 Days Later: The Aftermath, that the infected target their victims through smell. Uninfected individuals smell of perfume, deodorants, soap, etc., while those that are infected would reek of perspiration and dirt. One could conclude that the virus would be counter-productive if an infected individual attacked another infected individual, ergo it has evolved to exclude that possibility. On a more practical level, one could argue that this facet of the Infected is based simply upon the tradition of the earlier zombie films that influenced 28 Days Later, insofar as in such films, zombies are never seen to attack other zombies.

 

[Forcon]

I should add, nothing I've said is meant to be a criticism of @kspence92's excellent timeline, just some observations I came up with after rewatching the original film a couple of days back.

As for the Trident submarines, here's an idea: a desperate British government could have used them as bargaining chips to force our erstewhile allies to drop in supplies - I mean, if we don't get petrol and bullets then then the country is doomed anyways. An act of desperate, for sure, but when the government realised the sheer gravity of the situation...

A possible adaptation of the Hunker Down strategy could be the creation of safe zones in the north and west of the country, similar to having the Army fortifying its garrisons except this time you would have them secure a handful of cities instead, rather than trying to stop the advance of the infected as a whole. The decision would have to be made while the infected where still advancing on London, but the Army could, instead of trying to stop their advance, have withdrawn North and west, letting the infected overrun the midlands without a fight to buy time, and fortified a handful of population centers - say Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds, Newcastle and maybe Manchester and Sheffield.

 

[Ogrebear]

Problem with ‘safe zones’ is that as said in the timeline birds can carry the infection, a drop of blood on someone ‘behind the lines’ and you get an outbreak.

Best option is evac of the mainland and fortifying the borders of all the islands and European continent which is what they did, with UN/NATO forces eventually sinking or shooting down anything coming from the UK.

Thus the infection cannot spread to Europe.

 

[Pax_Nihil]

Problem with ‘safe zones’ is that as said in the timeline birds can carry the infection, a drop of blood on someone ‘behind the lines’ and you get an outbreak.

Best option is evac of the mainland and fortifying the borders of all the islands and European continent which is what they did, with UN/NATO forces eventually sinking or shooting down anything coming from the UK.

Thus the infection cannot spread to Europe.

You have me wondering if a massive pesticide spraying of the United Kingdom would be a worthwhile endeavor (I wonder if its possible to create an avian-specific poison or if that's just stupid).

 

[Gillan1220]

As for the Trident submarines, here's an idea: a desperate British government could have used them as bargaining chips to force our erstewhile allies to drop in supplies - I mean, if we don't get petrol and bullets then then the country is doomed anyways. An act of desperate, for sure, but when the government realised the sheer gravity of the situation...

That's what NATO did actually. Even without the nuclear option. It's just that airdrops weren't enough to supply the British Army to hold back the infected.

Problem with ‘safe zones’ is that as said in the timeline birds can carry the infection, a drop of blood on someone ‘behind the lines’ and you get an outbreak.

Best option is evac of the mainland and fortifying the borders of all the islands and European continent which is what they did, with UN/NATO forces eventually sinking or shooting down anything coming from the UK.

Thus the infection cannot spread to Europe.

That's how Scotland fell here. While it was safe because it was far from Ground Zero, a migrating bird shot by a kid with a BB rifle carried the infection. And the bird fell into a civilian of all things. That's how Scotland fell.

I think it was mentioned at some point in the tie-in comics that the French government actually ordered the culling of migratory birds crossing the Channel.

You have me wondering if a massive pesticide spraying of the United Kingdom would be a worthwhile endeavor (I wonder if its possible to create an avian-specific poison or if that's just stupid).

The question is too if that is feasible. Does the UK have firefighting planes and crop dusters to carry such act.

 

[Pax_Nihil]

That's what NATO did actually. Even without the nuclear option. It's just that airdrops weren't enough to supply the British Army to hold back the infected.

That's how Scotland fell here. While it was safe because it was far from Ground Zero, a migrating bird shot by a kid with a BB rifle carried the infection. And the bird fell into a civilian of all things. That's how Scotland fell.

I think it was mentioned at some point in the tie-in comics that the French government actually ordered the culling of migratory birds crossing the Channel.

The question is too if that is feasible. Does the UK have firefighting planes and crop dusters to carry such act.

I'm not imagining the UK doing it, I'm picturing the rest of the world doing it whether the UK complains or not

 

[Ogrebear]

The UK does have crop dusting planes, though they are not as common as in other places and most plant spraying is done using modified lorries/combines.

All contingency plans and alt forms of reaction have to take into account the exceptionally fast spread of the virus - 28 days for the country to fall. The stories of the survivors, and the warnings from the govt in NI, would be part of the reason Ireland, NI, the islands and all Euro countries would be on guard 28 days, 28 weeks, or 28 months later. Nothing is getting out - ESP once the 'carrier problem' is identified from the failed Isle of Dogs experiment.

A story about a Special Forces team sent into 'ground zero' in Cambridge to retrieve what data they could from the Lab that started it would be in an interesting read.

 

[saluto]

The UK does have crop dusting planes, though they are not as common as in other places and most plant spraying is done using modified lorries/combines.

All contingency plans and alt forms of reaction have to take into account the exceptionally fast spread of the virus - 28 days for the country to fall. The stories of the survivors, and the warnings from the govt in NI, would be part of the reason Ireland, NI, the islands and all Euro countries would be on guard 28 days, 28 weeks, or 28 months later. Nothing is getting out - ESP once the 'carrier problem' is identified from the failed Isle of Dogs experiment.

A story about a Special Forces team sent into 'ground zero' in Cambridge to retrieve what data they could from the Lab that started it would be in an interesting read.

Really intrigued to see what 28 years later could be. Especially as they’ve hinted it could retcon 28 weeks later and might involve Jim coming back.

Boyle and Garland have been fairly reluctant to do another sequel until now, but apparently the idea they’ve settled on is something they’ve been kicking around between them for some time. Budget seems to be £60 million and could set off a trilogy.

 

[Forcon]

Really intrigued to see what 28 years later could be. Especially as they’ve hinted it could retcon 28 weeks later and might involve Jim coming back.

Boyle and Garland have been fairly reluctant to do another sequel until now, but apparently the idea they’ve settled on is something they’ve been kicking around between them for some time. Budget seems to be £60 million and could set off a trilogy.

An excellent film would be a '28 Seconds Later' prequel documenting the events described on the first night of the outbreak by TTLs author.

Better yet, an HBO miniseries documenting the fall of Britain.

 

[Forcon]

Hell, maybe ITTL the reason Britain fell so fast was that the British Army was still using SA-80A1s (they don't work).

 

[CalBear]

Hell, maybe ITTL the reason Britain fell so fast was that the British Army was still using SA-80A1s (they don't work).

Actually one of the things that REALLY pissed me off at the end of the movie. All these zombies run out of the hospital straight into the teeth of at least two .50 cals and nobody even falls down.

Apparently thoes zombies were immune to all gunfire, including rounds that can defeat light armored cars.

Who knew?

 

[Kurd Gossemer]

Actually one of the things that REALLY pissed me off at the end of the movie. All these zombies run out of the hospital straight into the teeth of at least two .50 cals and nobody even falls down.

Apparently thoes zombies were immune to all gunfire, including rounds that can defeat light armored cars.

Who knew?

Tbh, someone high enough on drugs and on adrenaline can stab someone to death while having a clip emptied into them and considering the infected are all fueled by murderous rage,anything short of a well placed headshot or machine guns that can down helicopters wouldn't be enough.

 

[Pax_Nihil]

Tbh, someone high enough on drugs and on adrenaline can stab someone to death while having a clip emptied into them and considering the infected are all fueled by murderous rage,anything short of a well placed headshot or machine guns that can down helicopters wouldn't be enough.

Yeah, if someone on PCP can fight off hordes of cops while completely nude and disemboweled and can't be stopped short of a headshot a horde of frenzied Rage virus infected could easily make it thru a barrage of .50 caliber machine guns, though I agree with Calbear that they should have had a much more substantial dead body count (the plot of the movie however necessitated those positions being overrun even though they were high up and well-removed from the actual mob).

 

[lukedalton]

Tbh, someone high enough on drugs and on adrenaline can stab someone to death while having a clip emptied into them and considering the infected are all fueled by murderous rage,anything short of a well placed headshot or machine guns that can down helicopters wouldn't be enough.

Handheld gun? Hunting rifle? Even assault gun? Sure but .50? Unless you are high on the super soldiers serum you go down, there are limit of what the Adrenaline can do, you will not feel pain and be semi awake but your body will go in shootdown due to the sheer phisical damage and the sudden loss of liters of blood

 

[Kurd Gossemer]

Handheld gun? Hunting rifle? Even assault gun? Sure but .50? Unless you are high on the super soldiers serum you go down, there are limit of what the Adrenaline can do, you will not feel pain and be semi awake but your body will go in shootdown due to the sheer phisical damage and the sudden loss of liters of blood

Good thing the Rage virus is like Adrenaline but 10x times more intense then😉

 

[CalBear]

Tbh, someone high enough on drugs and on adrenaline can stab someone to death while having a clip emptied into them and considering the infected are all fueled by murderous rage,anything short of a well placed headshot or machine guns that can down helicopters wouldn't be enough.

That was my point regarding the .50 cal. At short range, as shown in the movie scene, rounds from a Ma Deuce will literally blow a human body apart (i.e take off an arm/leg/blow a pie plate size hole THROUGH the abdomen and retain enough energy to do it a couple other people standing behind the first poor soul.

 

[Lord Hierarch]

Actually one of the things that REALLY pissed me off at the end of the movie. All these zombies run out of the hospital straight into the teeth of at least two .50 cals and nobody even falls down.

Had to re-read a second time, thought this meant the zombies ran out of the hospital shooting 50-cal's.

.